A Gallup analysis of 13 forward-looking metrics finds that the West North Central, Pacific, and Mountain regions are likely to be the best regions to live in in 20 years — based on the strong economic, health, and community foundations they are building today.

The ideal best place to live in in 2032 will have tackled unemployment, financial worry, healthcare costs, obesity, and education challenges to build a place where most residents are healthy, optimistic, employed in good jobs that they love and enthusiastic about their communities.

The West North Central region, which includes Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas, is poised for the brightest future.

"The West North Central region, which includes Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas, is poised for the brightest future."

Workers in this region are most likely to be employed full time for an employer — the type of good jobs associated with high GDP — and residents have the highest economic confidence in the nation, setting the region up for a strong economic future.

Residents are also the least likely nationwide to report that it is not easy for them to find clean, safe water, meaning they are the best positioned to address one of the crucial resource challenges of the future.

The Mountain region, which includes Montana, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, and New Mexico, comes in second, buoyed by the lowest obesity rate in the nation and the lowest percentage of residents lacking safe places to exercise.

The Pacific region, composed of California, Oregon, Washington, Hawaii, and Alaska, comes in a close third, with the lowest smoking rate in the nation, the highest percentage of workers saying their supervisor treats them like a partner, and the highest percentage of residents who say they learn new and interesting things daily.

It’s the combination of — or lack thereof — strong economics, good health, and vibrant communities that positions these regions for the future.

The East South Central region, which includes Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi, trails on several of these crucial metrics, performing the worst of the nine regions tested overall.

People in this region are the least likely to be employed in good jobs and to learn new and interesting things daily. Further, they have the lowest economic confidence in the nation.

They are also the most likely nationwide to be obese, to smoke, and to say it is not easy for them to find a safe place to exercise. That’s an unhealthy combination for building a productive, thriving society.

The findings are based on the results of nearly 480,000 interviews with U.S. adults conducted since early 2011 on the following Gallup Daily tracking and Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index measures: